Google has updated the minimum hardware requirements for smartphones utilizing its Android operating system and Google Mobile Services (GMS). The technology giant has increased the baseline for both RAM and storage capacity necessary for devices to come pre-installed with the Play Store and Play Services. While these new specifications represent a rise, they remain significantly lower than the capabilities found in most budget smartphones currently available, which provide a satisfactory user experience at a more affordable price. Furthermore, new devices are now required to have the ability to share emergency contact information with emergency services.
Minimum Requirements Set for Android 16
Android Authority reported the revised minimum specifications for smartphones shipping with Android 15, along with Google’s associated apps and services. Manufacturers aiming to release new smartphones with Android 15 must ensure that the devices include a minimum of 32GB of on-board storage. This requirement has evolved from previous benchmarks, which were raised from 8GB to 16GB after the launch of Android 13.
According to Google, manufacturers are also required to allocate 75% of the internal storage for user data. Presently, many entry-level smartphones are equipped with at least 64GB of internal storage, a necessity driven by the increasing size of applications.
The minimum RAM requirement for smartphones running Android is presently set at 4GB. Devices featuring only 3GB of RAM are restricted to using Android Go, which is tailored for less powerful handsets. Google plans to elevate the minimum RAM requirement to 6GB with the upcoming Android 16 release, thereby mandating that phones with 4GB of RAM will also have to operate on Android Go.
Moreover, smartphones shipping with Android 15 are required to be fitted with processors that support Vulkan 1.3 or newer for 3D graphics and compute functionalities. In addition, these devices must incorporate the capability to share emergency contact details during interactions with emergency services.
In an additional recommendation, Google has encouraged the integration of Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) support for hearing aids using the Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids (ASHA) protocol in Android 15 smartphones. This feature is expected to become mandatory for devices featuring Bluetooth 5.0 and Android 16 in the future.
